Electric railway.



No. 65,524. Patented lun e I2, [900. A. CA'SAZZA.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

(Application filed. June 10, 1599.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet l.

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'No. e5|,524.

Patented June l2, I900. A. CASAZZA.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

(Application filed June 10, 1899.)

(NoModeL) 3 Sheets-Shae} 2.

INVENTOR' THE NORRIS mas on. P

No. 65|,524. Patented lune I2, I900. A.. Q'ASAZZA.

ELEGTMG RAILWAY.

(Applieafliou filed June 10, 1899.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

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PATENT FFIE.

AUGOST CASAZZA, OF HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

$PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 651,524., dated June 12, 1900.

Application filed June 10, 1899.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUGOST CASAZZA, of the city of Hoboken, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented new and useful Improvements in Electric Rail- Ways, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to that class of electric railways in which the cars or trains take their supply of electricity from a sectional conductor the sections of which are connected successively with the live wire or feeder as the car or train passes over them.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and efiicient railway of the above-indicated class.

The invention will be fully described hereinafter and the features of novelty pointed out in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved railway constructed with a double sectional overhead conductor. Fig. 2 illustrates in perspective the manner of supporting the sectional conductor. Fig. 3 is an end'view or transverse sectional elevation of the railway. Fig. 4 is a plan thereof. Fig. 5 illustrates one form of trolley to be employed in my railway. Fig. 6 shows another form of trolley. Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view of the switch for connecting the sectional conductor with the feeder. Fig. 8 shows another form of construction in which no overhead wires are employed, and Fig. 9 is a detail of the controller for starting and stopping the car.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 7, A indicates the live wire or feeder, which 'may'bearranged overhead, as shown, or underground, if preferred.

B are masts or posts which may be used as supports for the feed-wire and to which are secured cross-wires C, which carry the trolleywire plates or supports D. These cross-wires are insulated from the posts B, as indicated at E.

The trolley-wire supports D (see Fig. 2) consist of a metal plate D, (but other mate rials may be used,) with apertured lugs D to erial No. 720,056. (No model.)

nally, corresponding to the direction of the wires GH. These plugs F F are held in place in any suitable wayfor instance, simply byfrictional engagement with the insulatingsleeves F or nuts might be screwed on the protruding upper ends ofthe plugs. For each pair of the conductor-sections G and H there is a switch for connecting the sections of the motor trolley-wire G successively with the feeder A. The switches may be located in boxes I, secured to the postsB'; but it will be obvious that the location of the switches is immaterial. The switch is shown in detail in Fig. 7 and has the following parts and connections: In the boX I is arranged the stationary electromagnet J, the coil of which is connected at one end a with the ground and at the other end I) to a section of the switchtrolley conductor H. There are further two stationary contact-pieces K K, secured to a holder Land insulated from each other, said contact-pieces being connected by wires 0 and (1, respectively, with the motor-trolley conductor G and the feeder A. The wires 7) c of the same switch-box are connected to corresponding sections of the conductors GH. An armatureM, pivoted at M, is located adjacent to the electromagnet J and carries contact-pins M adapted to engage and to connect with each other the contact-pieces K and K, so as to connect the feeder A with one section of the motor-trolley conductor G. The connection from the wire 0 tothe plug F may be made, as shown, through the medium of one of the wires 0.

The car N is provided with a trolley-pole I O, to which, as shown in Figs. 3, 4E, and 6, an arm P may be pivoted to swing in a transverse plane, said arm carrying trolleys Q Q, so located as to engage the conductorsG and H, respectively. To facilitate the engagement of the trolleys with the conductors, I prefer to make the arm P heavier on one side (see Fig. 6) than on the other, so that when the trolleys are off the conductor one of them will stand higher than the other and will engage its wire first, the other trolley then swinging into position automatically.

The trolleys are insulated from each other, and from one of them,Q, which may be termed the power-trolley, a wire 6 leads to the controller R, and thence to the motor S, from which the current passes to the ground through the track, or a return connection to the power-house may be made, as indicated atfT in Fig. 3. The other trolley, Q, which may be termed the switch-trolley, is con nected by a wire 9 with a battery U or other source of electric current, the other pole of said battery being connected to the ground through the controller R, said controller being so constructed that the circuit through the wire {1 is closed before the power-circuit is closed at said controller R. Thus, as shown in Fig. 9, the controller-arm has two sections insulated from each other, one of which, 4', is connected with the power-circuit and is adapted to engage the usual series of contacts r while the other section '1" is adapted to engage a segment r connected with one portion of the switch-circuit the other portion of the wire g being connected with said section 1'. The connection to the ground may be made through one of the car-axles or by means of a special trolley Q The operation is as follows: IVith the car in the position illustrated by Fig. 1, if the controller R is operated the ground connection of the battery U will be first established, as above stated. The current of the battery will then pass through the wire g, up the pole O, to the switch-trolley Q, section of switchconductor ll, wire b, connected to said section, coil of eleetromagnet J in switch-box I and to ground by wire ct. The magnet J being thus energized attracts the armature M and brings the contact-pins M into engagement with the contact-pieces K K, closing the motor-circuit as follows: from feeder A, through wire d, contact-piece K, armature M, contact-piece K, wire 0, cross-wire C, wire a, plug F, section of power-conductor G, motor or power trolley Q, wire (2, controller R, motor S, and ground or return-wire T.

On all sections on which there is no car the magnet J is not energized, and consequently the conductor G of such sections is not connected with the feeder A.

As soon as the switch-trolley Q passes from one section of the conductor H to another the switch-circuit is broken in the section the car has just left, disconnecting the powerconductor G of said section from the feeder A, since the armature M, being no longer attracted, will drop. Similarly each time the switch-trolley Q passes from one section of the switch-conductor H to another it obviously closes the switch-circuit of the new section, and thereby also connects the powerconductor of said section with the feeder.

The trolleys may be constructed, as shown in Fig. 5, in which the cross-arm P is rigid with the pole O and the trolley-arms P are pivoted longitudinally to the ends of the arm P, each arm carrying two trolleys Q Q of which Q are the switch-trolleys and Q the power-trolleys.

In the construction represented in Fi 8, overhead conductors are entirely dispensed with and I employ two sectional conductors G H formed by the track-rails, and each section of the switch-conductor I1 is connected by a wire I) with the electromagnet J of the switch I belonging to the same section and by a wire a with the magnet J of the preceding section. The contact-pieces K K are connected by wires 0' d, respectively, with the power-conductor sections G corresponding to those of the switclrconduetor sections ll", which are connected with the wires to and b, respectively, of the same switch Ithat is, in the same switch I the wires I) and d are connected with corresponding sections of the conductors G and II and likewise the wires to and c. The contact-pins M M of the armature M are insulated from each other and are connected by wires 71, and 1', respectively, with the return-wire T (or with the ground) and with the feeder A. The battery U is connected by wire g, brushes V V and the carwheels N,with adjacent sections of the swi tchconductor I1 which adjacent sections are in electrical connection by means of the wires a b, thereby energizing the magnet J. The motor S is connected by wires 6, brushes V" V, and the car-wheels N, with adjacent sections of the power-conductor G said sections corresponding to those previously mentioned, of the switch-cond uctor H \Vhen the magnet J is energized, as shown at the left-hand portion of Fig. 9, the power-circuit is closed as follows: from a feeder A through wire i,contact-pin M, contact-piece K, wire d, powerconductor section G car-wheel N, brush V, wire 6, motor S, wire e, brush V car-wheel N, other section of power-conductor G wire 0, contact-piece K, contact-pin M wire it, and ground or return-conductor T In this construction all the wheels may be uninsulated; but it is preferable that the wheels on 'one side of the car should be insulated from those on the other side, or, as shown, every wheel may be insulated.

It will be understood that the controller R will be provided in the constructions shown in Fig. 8 and connected with the Wires e and g n the same manner as described with reference to Fig. 1.

In Fig. 8 I have shown the sections of the conductors G2 H of about the same length as the distance between the axles of the car. This arrangement will be adopted when only single cars are to be run. Where, however, trains consisting of several cars are run, the

length of the sections will be advantageously brushes V V V V will be in contact with the car-wheels N on the first and last axles.

The battery U may be a storage battery and may be kept charged constantly from the power-conductor by means of a connectingwire j, in which is included a resistance or voltage reducer X, as shown in Fig. 8. This arrangement is of course applicable also to the constructions shown in the other figures of the drawings.

I desire it to be understood that modifications will constitute no departure from the spirit of my invention as long as they remain within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described, my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In an electric railway, a power-conductor and a switch-conductor both constructed in sections, a feeder, connections from the feeder to the power-conductor sect-ions, a

switch controlling each of said connections, each switch being connected in series with two adjacent switch-conductor sections, devices located upon the train for conveying the current from the power-conductor to the motor, a source of electricitylocated upon the train, and means, carried by the train for connecting said source of electricity successively with the sections of the switch-cond uctor, substantially as described.

2. In an electric railway, a power-conductor and a switch-conductor both constructed in sections, a feeder, connections from the feeder to the power conductor sections, a switch controlling each of said connections, each switch com prisingan electromagnet connected with two adjacent switch-conductor sections, two stationary contact-pieces. connected with adjacent power-conductor sections, an armature adapted to be attracted by the magnet and carrying two contact pins or pieces insulated from each other and connected respectively with the feeder and with the ground or a return-wire, said contact-pins being adapted to engage the stationary contact-pieces, devices located upon the train for conveying the on rrent from the power-conductor to the motor, a source of electricity located upon the train, and means carried by the train for connecting said source of electricity successively with the sections of the switchconductor, substantially as described.

3. In an electric railway, overhead crosswires secured by their outer ends to stationary supports, a conductor-supporting plate secured to the inner ends of said cross-wires, spaced longitudinally-alining wire-holders secured to said plate, and a sectional conductor secured to said holders.

4. In an electric railway, overhead crosswires secured by their outer ends to stationary supports, a conductor-supporting plate secured to the inner ends of said cross-wires, a set of four spaced wire-holders secured to said plate, each two wire-holders alining longitudinally, and two sectional conductors secured to the said holders.

5. In an electric railway, a car having a trolley-pole, and an arm carrying trolleys and pivoted to the pole about an axis extending longitudinally of the car, the arm being unbalanced so that one of the trolleys is normally in an upper position.

6. In an electric railway, a car having a trolley-pole, a transverse arm at the upper end of the pole, arms extending longitudinally and pivoted to the ends of the transverse arm about a transverse axis, said longitudinal arms being unbalanced, and trolleys carried by said pivoted arms.

AUGOST OASAZZA.

Witnesses:

JOHN LOTKA, EVERARD BOLTON MARSHALL. 

